Sara Lurie, director of The Fostering Network in Scotland, said: 'Coming into care can be extremely scary and traumatic for children and young people, and being separated from brothers and sisters can compound this. We are delighted, therefore, that the Scottish Government is bolstering the law so that placing brothers and sisters together, when they come into care, is given a higher priority than is currently the case. We are especially pleased to see recognition of the importance of brothers and sisters who are not able to live together being able to keep in touch. We know these relationships are vital to the wellbeing of children in care.

‘We would encourage the Scottish Government to collect data to find out how many siblings in care are not living together as this will enable us to have a better sense of the scale of the problem and to consider how best to actively promote those relationships.

‘Of course, one of the practical challenges is finding foster families who are able to look after sibling groups – and we would encourage anyone who thinks they might have the relevant skills, as well as the desire, to offer a home to brothers and sisters to get in touch with their local fostering service.’

There has been a tremendous response to our #changeafuture theme this Foster Care Fortnight from our members and supporters as well as decision makers around the UK and the wider public, with more than 1,000 pieces of media coverage and countless social media posts